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My Weight Loss Journey

**Update** I wanted to give a little update about an added benefit. Right now, we are all going through open enrollment for insurance. This year, we were paying an arm and a leg for premiums. It was close to being $600 a month. For 2018, our premiums are being cut in half (and then some). So the added $300+ a month is going to go a long way. That’s, almost, more of a benefit than shedding the weight itself.

I said, in an earlier post, that I wanted to share some life stories along with the endless sports knowledge that I can drop. Here’s one that I’ve been tinkering with on how i wanted to tell the story.

2016 was one of the worst years of my life (mentally and physically speaking). I was always tired. I would come home and just sit down to either watch TV or play video games. This is after sitting for most of the 8 hours at work. In hindsight, it was not a healthy routine that I got myself into. Then, I started watching some YouTube videos. There’s a corner of the internet that people just vlog (video log) their lives everyday. One, in particular, that I watch everyday is Logan Paul. It’s weird to say being 28 and watching a 22 year old’s videos everyday. The thing that made me keep coming back was his energy. He also gives advice that, I think everyone can take, but this is getting off track.

After watching his videos for some time, I started thinking of how I could rewire my brain to be able to get back into shape. I would always start, but it wouldn’t last long. When I was going to the gym, I had no idea what I was doing so pretty much just wasting my time. Then, I had a friend who told me about the Bodyspace App (not a paid endorsement). They have tons of free workout plans that you can follow depending on your goals. I also started reading of the best ways to get results (not just in the gym). What should I be eating? What supplements should I be taking? So on and so forth. Then, I read to set goals. My goal was always to get back to freshman year of college weight (around 180).

January came around and that’s when everyone sets their “New Year’s Resolution”. I had two this year. First, to lose weight and get healthy again. Second, keep my first “New Year’s Resolution”. I set January 8th to be my start date. It was the first full week after the holidays. January 7th, I weighed in at 230 lbs. Again, 230 lbs! If anyone who has known me, knows I’ve never been a big guy. After that, I knew I had to set a more realistic goal. Get down to 200 lbs, then reevaluate and set a new goal. The morning came and I started a 4 week program to get back into the swing of things. The research is what helped me out. I read to not go full out right away otherwise I would tire myself out and go back to not working out. So the 4 weeks were Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the first 2 weeks. Then, it ramped me up to Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the last 2 weeks. During my research, I also read that it takes 22 days to make something a habit. So I made it a goal to make it 22 days.

Those were my meals for about 6 months. (I also treated myself to a cheat meal on Sundays). I don’t want to bore you with details from my workouts after the first 4 weeks, which brings us to today. I thought about waiting until January 8th to write this, but thought “fuck it”. Maybe I can shed light onto my journey so someone can start theirs sooner rather than later.

I weighed in this morning at 185 lbs. I did get down to 180 lbs, but I have added lean muscle mass back on. I have more energy each day along with more desire to be better everyday. As far as mentally, I’m in a better state. Through this journey, it has re-solidified the belief in myself. Hence, why I started writing. It also has taught me to push through the tough days because those are inevitable. We can only control what we can control. There are outside factors that make the tough days. Logan always used to say that those were “Man maker days”.

There you have it. My hope is that by telling my personal story that it might help someone else start their journey. Maybe it will help someone get to their own January 8th.

Much love,

DR

PS- For my Wisconsin readers, I switched from drinking beer to drinking more mixdrinks that don’t include a lot of sugar 🙂 (you’re welcome)